By Tabitha Evans Moore | EDITOR & PUBLISHER

LYNCHBURG — Non-conference games can be a mixed bag. Play a bigger school and the score can be misleading. On Tuesday, the Class 1A Moore County Raiders fell to an Alabama Class 2A ranked team in Lynchburg.

The Class 2A #10 Pisgah High School Eagles came into the game with a 14-7 record and lots of weapons including six foot three senior Luke Gilbert, who put up 26 points on Tuesday.

The loss drops the Raiders to a 3-13 regular season record. The Raiders currently sit at 1-1 in District 9A play and will get a chance to notch another crucial district victory when they play winless Huntland at MCHS on Friday.

{Editor’s Note: This year’s Raiders basketball coverage is free to all readers thanks to our community partner, Woodard’s Market.}

Peyton Martin led with 17 points

Moore County paced the Eagles in the first period. Pisgah got the tip off and converted it to an easy layup, then drained a trey to gain an early 5-0 lead. Moore County got its first points of the game when the Eagles sent Peyton Martin to the line and he made one of two. Martin followed it with another inside basket and the “and one” to pull the Raiders within one, 5-4.

Pisgah answered with back-to-back baskets then fouled Brantley Hill. He made both from the line to make it a three-point game. Jay Sparkman then swished a jumper to get the Raiders back within one, 9-8.

It was as close as Moore County would get. The Eagles outscored them by five in the first and nine in the second to pull away 40-26 by halftime. Moore County battled back in the second half. They put up 13 points to Pisgah’s 17 in the third and paced the Eagles in the final stanza, but at the final buzzer, they walked away with a 70-52 loss.

Peyton Martin did work inside all night for Moore County and led the Raiders with 17 points – including 10 from the floor and another seven from the line. Other contributing Raiders were Gavin Wise (9), Jay Sparkman (8), as well as Brantley Hill, Colton Morey, and Tucker Smith, who added six points each.

Moore County scored 22 points from the floor and 15 from the perimeter. They were 15 of 28 (53 percent) from behind the line. For comparison, the Eagles scored 44 from the floor and 18 from the perimeter. They were eight of 18 (44 percent) at the line.

The Raiders will play Huntland in Lynchburg on Friday. •

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